Asia

Pakistan deports National Geographic's iconic 'Afghan Girl'

Associated Press
Published | Updated

FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2016 file photo, Pakistani officials escort famed Afghan woman Sharbat Gulla in a burqa or veil outside a court in Peshawar, Pakistan. A Pakistani government official says on Wednesday, Nov. 9, National Geographic's famed green-eyed "Afghan Girl" has been deported to Afghanistan. Fayaz Khan says Pakistani officials handed over Gulla and her four children to Afghan authorities early Wednesday at Torkham border, 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of Peshawar city. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad, File) (The Associated Press)

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, right, meets with National Geographic's famed green-eyed "Afghan Girl" Sharbat Gulla at the Presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 9, 2016. Afghanistan's president on Wednesday welcomed home Gulla who was deported from Pakistan after a court had convicted her on charges of carrying a forged Pakistani ID card and staying in the country illegally. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (The Associated Press)

Afghan famed woman Sharbat Gulla meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, at the Presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 9, 2016, Afghanistan's president on Wednesday welcomed home the famed green-eyed girl who was deported from Pakistan after a court had convicted her on charges of carrying a forged Pakistani ID card and staying in the country illegally. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (The Associated Press)

A Pakistani government official says National Geographic's famed green-eyed "Afghan Girl" has been deported to Afghanistan.

Fayaz Khan says Sharbat Gulla and her four children were handed over to Afghan authorities early on Wednesday at the Torkham border crossing, about 60 kilometers, or 37 miles, northwest of the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Gulla was arrested in late October on charges of carrying fake Pakistani ID papers and staying in Pakistan illegally. A Peshawar court later ordered her deported.

She gained international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl, after war photographer Steve McCurry's photograph of her, with piercing green eyes, was published on National Geographic's cover.

McCurry found her again in 2002. In 2014, she went into hiding after authorities accused her of buying fake Pakistani documents.